CNN Money
Last week, Equifax announced hackers stole the personal data of as many as 143 million Americans.
The cybercriminals stole information including names, Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers.
You may have never used Equifax yourself, or even heard of it. Either way, the credit reporting agency could still have a lot of your personal information.
To find out if your data was compromised by the hack, go here.
IF YOUR IDENTITY WAS STOLEN
Nearly half of Americans had their personal information exposed during the data breach.
If you were one of them, here’s what you should do next:
1. Don’t panic.
2. Go to IdentityTheft.gov to file an identity theft report.
3. Put a freeze or fraud alert on your credit reports.
4. Request, in writing, to close fraudulent accounts.
5. Dispute any fraudulent information on your credit report.
It could be a long, messy process but you will get through it. Really.
WHAT THE HECK IS A CREDIT ‘FREEZE’?
In the wake of the breach, many consumers are putting their credit on ice as an extra safeguard.
A credit freeze limits who can see your credit report information, stopping anyone from opening new accounts in your name.
But there’s a catch: It’ll block you, too. So if you’re shopping for a home or an auto loan, it isn’t the best idea.
Don’t worry though. If you do have a freeze on your credit, but you want to open a new account, you can lift the freeze temporarily.
Three Equifax executives sold shares of the credit-reporting company worth nearly $2 million shortly after a massive data breach was discovered. The sales occurred before the company announced the breach to the public on Thursday.
Equifax said in a statement to CNNMoney that it found out about the security incident on July 29 and immediately took action.
Joseph Loughran, Equifax’s president for U.S. information solutions, sold shares worth about $685,000 on August 1 as well.
And Rodolfo Ploder, president of workforce solutions, sold stock for just more than $250,000 on August 2.
